There are lots of low-energy building methods that have worked fine in the past (buildings that last hundreds of years and are often the only building still standing after natural disasters). But these buildings will not pass codes when the codes are expecting manufactured standard materials. Window size and placement are another set of problems people face trying to make a passive solar building design. I am looking to go low-voltage DC wiring and keep running into problems that electricians will not touch as it gets into the grey areas with electrical code. The inspiration for this post is reading about green wood construction (fresh-cut wood shrinks a lot) and "post and beam" construction methods. Post and beam is one of the best ways to build with green wood. Most methods use no metal including nails.

There are lots of low-energy building methods that have worked fine in the past (buildings that last hundreds of years and are often the only building still standing after natural disasters). But these buildings will not pass codes when the codes are expecting manufactured standard materials. Window size and placement are another set of problems people face trying to make a passive solar building design. I am looking to go low-voltage DC wiring and keep running into problems that electricians will not touch as it gets into the grey areas with electrical code. The inspiration for this post is reading about green wood construction (fresh-cut wood shrinks a lot) and "post and beam" construction methods. Post and beam is one of the best ways to build with green wood. Most methods use no metal including nails.

Probably the case. Too many codes are made by folks with narrow vision on what they are doing. That means anything outside of their narrow view will suffer.

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Building codes are highly variable area to area. In the US it is state to state, county to county, town to city---all variable.Some are very lax while others are ridiculously strict. The strict ones, I think, just want to make a bundle of money on various permits and fees, along with property taxes. Some have public safety as a reason.There are National codes for electric and building in general that a version may be used by a county or city, not necessarily the latest versions.SEE MY POCKETS OF FREEDOM thread.

_________________"With every decision, think seven generations ahead of the consequences of your actions" Ute rule of life.“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”― Chief Seattle“Those Who Have the Privilege to Know Have the Duty to Act”…Albert Einstein